1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to a self-pasting toothbrush with a replaceable toothpaste reservoir that, through rotation of the reservoir, actuates a piston means to deliver toothpaste to within the brush bristle portion. After the paste supply in the reservoir has been exhausted, the user simply removes the paste reservoir and attaches a new one.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Various attempts have been made to provide satisfactory self-pasting toothbrushes. One such attempt, U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,480 (LaRocque), discloses the use of such a toothbrush wherein a holder member, hingedly connected to the brush, contains a toothpaste container so that the toothpaste container may be swung into contact with the brush bristles to deliver toothpaste thereupon.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,172,624 (Robert) discloses a mounting for toothbrush bristles that allows the bristles to oscillate as the brush is reciprocated in use. Also, and of primary relevance to the present invention, the '624 patent shows the use of a self-pasting toothbrush in which a rotatable feed screw forces a nut toward the brush end to deposit toothpaste from a hollow paste reservoir to a position below the brush bristles.
These aforementioned toothbrushes, however, suffer from the fact that upon exhaustion of the toothpaste, the user must often spend a few minutes or more to install a new toothpaste supply. Thus, users are easily discouraged from utilizing the brushes.
Moreover, neither brush automatically deposits the stored toothpaste to the centralmost portion of the brush bristles. Such a placement of the toothpaste facilitates both an easy and proper brushing of the teeth.